Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,933 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Northwest Natural worth $6,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 11,111.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Northwest Natural by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,054 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Northwest Natural by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in Northwest Natural by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northwest Natural news, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.99, for a total transaction of $311,155.09. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,192,908.09. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total transaction of $92,690.18. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,774 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,295. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Performance

Shares of NWN stock traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $41.16. The company had a trading volume of 10,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,780. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Northwest Natural Holding has a twelve month low of $34.82 and a twelve month high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $494.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $464.65 million. Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 6.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.